Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Today's Special - - Anna Sugden

One of my favorite Brits is back today with more hockey hunks, a new book and a terrific giveaway. I was beyond excited when I discovered that Anna Sugden's debut book would be first in a series revolving around a professional ice hockey team. As soon as I read that book - A Perfect Distraction - I began counting the days until book two was launched into the world. Sugden's sophomore effort, A Perfect Trade does not disappoint. Captivating me from beginning to end, this deeply emotional journey snaps, sizzles and refuses to let me go. I'm still thinking about these characters more than two weeks after finishing their story. Anna recently answered some questions for me about her books and herself. I hope you enjoy our Q&A!

Hi PJ, and all you Dishy dames!
Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you today - it’s great to be
back!

Hi Anna! It's always a pleasure to host you here at TRD. Congratulations on the release of A Perfect Trade! This book grabbed me from the first page and still hasn't let go. Please tell our readers
what they can expect from this second book in your New Jersey Ice Cats series.

Aww thank you so much. I can’t tell
you what it means to me that you enjoyed Tru and Jenny’s story. The Ice Cats are back in A Perfect
Trade. This time, the focus swings over to Jelinek family and middle brother,
Tru - who is also Jake’s best friend.

There is a slight change of pace in
A Perfect Trade, in that the season is more or less over and it’s not been a
good one. Tru’s career with the Ice Cats is in jeopardy and he’s not happy
about it. Meanwhile, the past has reared its ugly head with Jenny. So, you’ll
all get to find out what caused the problems between them!

As with A Perfect Distraction, in A
Perfect Trade, there are some complex emotional issues to be resolved before
Tru and Jenny can have their happy ever after.

Here’s the blurb:

A win-win negotiation?

Truman "Tru" Jelinek's life is pretty much off the
rails. With his professional hockey career on thin ice, and his personal life
falling apart, he's ready to implement some serious changes. Helping Jenny
Martin—the only girl he's ever loved—make her dreams a reality is a good place
to start.

There's just one problem: Jenny doesn't want his help. She
barely wants to speak to him. But Tru is prepared to negotiate a deal that even
Jenny can't refuse. As trading favors turns into sharing passion, he has to
face the truth that when it comes to Jenny, the game is far from over.

There are some major obstacles standing between Jenny and
Tru and their potential happy ending.
What was it about these two that convinced you they had a shot at making
it the second time around?

You know that feeling you have when
you just know two people should be together? That’s what I had with Tru
and Jenny. I think the key really was that these are two good people who have
similar values. What split them apart was terrible, but it was done with the
best of intentions. And, beneath it all, I could feel the need they each felt
for the other. Not just attraction, but that calling from the heart of one mate
to another.

As I was writing them, what became
clear was that the past -- which had been terrible for both of them, for
different reasons -- had forged two survivors. That they’d been able to
overcome those issues meant there was hope that they could surmount these
obstacles too.

My late husband was a brawny jock who knew his way around
the kitchen so, of course, my heart melted when Tru’s method of comforting
Jenny was to cook for her. What comfort
food would you most want your hero to cook for you?

I’m very lucky in that Doc
Cambridge is a fabulous cook J In fact, right now, he’s
making ice cream for me! Honestly, my favourite comfort food is a good,
old-fashioned English breakfast (what we call a ‘fry up’!) - eggs, bacon or
sausage, toast, baked beans, fried potatoes, mushrooms and some cherry tomatoes
on the side. Yum!

Oh, that sounds yummy! Breakfast is my favorite meal. Jenny is a complex woman with more layers than her reputation
would suggest. What surprised you most
about this character?

I fell in love with Jenny the
minute she walked onto the page in A Perfect Distraction. Aside from her great
boots <g>, she had such a confident personality, she was intensely loyal
and she was a genuine and knowledgeable lover of hockey. Yet she chose to be a
puck bunny (hockey groupie). What’s more, she’d made being a puck bunny into
something elite. You can’t help but admire her!

What surprised me most about her
was her vulnerability. I think we forget that people who appear tough on the
outside, often have that protective shell for a reason. More, Jenny didn’t let
her horrible past make her into a victim, but used her vulnerability to fuel
her strength.

I think that's what I liked best about her too; the fact that she refused to be a victim. There are some mouth-watering examples of hero inspiration
among professional hockey players these days.
Did you use a real-life person as inspiration for Tru or is he strictly
a product of your imagination?

Excuse me while I pause to think
about some of those mouthwatering hockey players <happy sigh>.

Oh, please take your time. We'll wait here and drool over that photo on the left. Now that's inspiration!

While the Ice Cats series was
inspired by real life hockey players -- especially the contradiction between
the men they are on the ice and what they’re like off the ice -- as indeed was
Jake, Tru was a figment of my imagination.
Although, I must admit that Colorado Avalanche great, Joe Sakic, was in my head
as the model of a player with an honest, honourable reputation. Then I added in
the trait that I think many superstars must have, which is the belief that they
know best about everything!

Would you like to share an excerpt from the book?

Absolutely. This is from a scene
where Jenny and Tru end up at a place they used to go to when they were high
school sweethearts. They’re both escaping their own problems and neither
expects the other to be there.

Tru had barely taken a
bite of his burger when he caught a movement at the edge of his vision. Jenny’s
fork clattered to the table. She pushed her plate away and cradled her head in
her hands.

Before Tru could
question his actions, he was stand­ing by her side—with no idea what to say.

“You’re a long way
from home.” Were those gruffly spoken words the best he could do?

Jenny’s back
stiffened, but she didn’t look up.

Where was her usual
snappy comeback? Her lack of reaction worried him. Whatever was wrong, was bad.
He had to do something to spark a response. “Didn’t think this was your
neighborhood anymore.”

She lifted her head,
glaring at him. “Excuse me?”

“Look around. No
hockey players.”

She raised an eyebrow.
“You’re right. At least, no good hockey
players.”

Ouch. Still,
fire had finally flashed in her blue eyes.

He slid into the
booth, opposite her.

“Go away, Truman. I’m
eating.”

“Uh-huh. And what was
that you were doing when I came over? Praying?” He winced inwardly. He’d wanted
a reaction, not to hurt her.

“You, of all people,
should know I don’t believe in God.”

“My point exactly.” He
helped himself to a French fry.

“Hey, get your own
fries.”

“You used to be better
at sharing.” He plucked an onion ring from her plate and offered it to her. When
she continued to glare, he shrugged and ate it himself.

Jenny stood, marched
over to the waitress station and grabbed a bottle of ketchup. When she
returned, she deliberately poured sauce over the fries and rings.

His heart kicked.
She’d remembered he didn’t like ketchup. “Now, that’s just mean.”

He went to collect his
own dinner and returned.

Jenny rolled her eyes.
“Do you always force your company upon women?”

“I never have to force
anything. They flock to me.”

“Like lemmings to a
cliff?”

He grinned. “Not bad.”

“I’m just warming up.”

What can we expect next from the Ice Cats?

I’m just finishing up the third
book in the series, tentatively titled A Perfect Catch, which is Ike and
Tracy’s story. Boy are these two hard-headed people giving me a tough ride! I don’t want to give too much away,
other than to say that this deals with another aspect of a professional
athlete’s life - injury.

All being well, A Perfect Catch
will be out in Feb 2015.

Marking my calendar!Let’s talk about you for a bit.

I have favorite summer reading places that differ from my
favorite winter reading places. Where’s
your favorite place to curl up with a good book during the warm summer months? Is this also your favorite place to write?

We have a lovely conservatory on
the back of our house. We had it built when we came back from New Jersey
because we missed the bright light you got there. Plus we missed the ability to
sit outside for so much of the year. Our conservatory allows us the bright
light and the ability to sit ‘outside’ even when the weather is bad!

I have a really comfortable chair
in the conservatory, which is perfect for curling up and reading. The only
problem is that I have to fight my cats for my chair! Jersey Girl, in
particular loves to sneak on there.

What books are on your reading list for this summer? (I expect a re-read of A PERFECT TRADE to end
up on mine. Probably A PERFECT
DISTRACTION too!)

Aww thank you!

One of the great things about the
summer is that we tend to travel (eg to the RWA conference), which means two
long flights with uninterrupted reading time! I usually save my romantic
suspenses and thrillers for those journeys - so the latest Karen Rose, Lisa
Gardner, Tess Gerritsen and JD Robb. I’m also saving the latest CS Harris.

It’s a good time to try new authors
for me - this trip, I plan to read Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley. It’s a
mystery that features a hockey-playing newspaper editor as the crime-solver.
Not my usual fare, but you can imagine what drew me to the story! ;)

Will you be attending any conferences or book signings where
readers will have the opportunity to meet you this summer?

I will be at the RWA Conference in
San Antonio later this month. This will be my first book signing, so I’m very
excited! I’d love to meet any readers who plan to go to the Literacy Signing.

Can't wait to see you in San Antonio! Thank you so much for visiting with us today, Anna. Would you like to ask our readers a question?

It’s my pleasure. I love hanging out with
everyone here! I’m going to steal one of your questions and ask everyone- does
your other half cook (if so, what is his specialty) and what is your favourite
comfort food?

One lucky person leaving a comment on today's post will receive a gift pack from Anna that includes a copy of A Perfect Trade as well as an exclusive A Perfect Trade notebook and key ring. And, Anna has generously opened this giveaway to all of our readers!

76 comments:

Congrats on the new book, Anna! My hubby cooks. When we met we found we had many of the same cookbooks. LOL He loves to make this huge, rich cheesecake, though he doesn't do it to often. For me, comfort food would be soup of any kind. :)

Hi, Anna, can't wait to read your new book! Love that you modeled Tru after "Burnaby Joe", he was one of my faves when he was playing in the NHL. I do all of the cooking and my comfort food is rice or pasta. I wish I could find a guy who would cook for me! ;-)

Hi, Anna! I am so excited for you and your second release! Thanks for hosting her today, PJ!My husband does cook; sometimes he'll look up recipes online, other times he does the breakfast-at-night meal. I am very lucky because he cooks 98% of the time during the school year on weeknights. He came up with a casserole-type dish, using Bisquick as the base. He's made it with hamburger, chicken, sausage, and ham, and lots of cheese; we like them all.My comfort food is mashed potatoes. Warm and buttery with salt. Thanks for being here!!

Anna, I LOVED A Perfect Distraction (and what a bonus to have the "perfect" title too)! I was quite happy that you wrote the anticipation to the HEA so cleverly - it wasn't just about having great sex (although that can never hurt, har har).Alas, my husband barbecues, and almost every time he says, "So, how is it?" He doesn't get that I don't ask about the other 600+ meals of the year that *I* make (because we should both be commenting things like, "Yummmm, I love it when you make this" or "This is fantastic," etc., without having been asked first, instead).My comfort food would be Kraft Dinner. When I was single, I could eat the whole box and three wieners for supper. Today at 55, I eat 1/4 box and a bunch of veggies instead. My, how the mighty have fallen, LOL.

Hi Laney! Thanks so much for visiting today and for your lovely words about A Perfect Distraction. BTW have you checked The Pink Heart Society? Just sayin' ;)

LOL men are funny like that, aren't they? Even when you tell them, they still want extra affirmation! Oh yum on the Kraft dinner! Ah but we ladies in our prime have to be more careful about what we eat. We don't have the metabolism of those youthful days. For sure, I don't!

My husband and cooking should never be uttered in the same sentence. This week he tried to make spaghetti sauce. He started with sauce in a jar and then added other ingredients until it was nearly unrecognizable. Ugh.

Occasionally he makes pancakes, from a pre-measured pouch mix to which he adds water that I must measure first, since he hasn't figured out how to use a measuring cup in 23 years of marriage.

Woo-hoo! Congratulations, Anna! I loved A Perfect Distraction and am eager to read A Perfect Trade.

As for your question, yes, my other half cooks--way better than I do, and he likes it way more than I do. My favorite comfort food is mac and cheese, and his is fabulous. He also makes amazing chocolate chip-cream cheese swirl brownies.

HI Anna!I haven't read any of your books yet but hope to soon. I have read a series about Ice skating mysteries but as far as I know she has not come out with any new ones in a while and they were good. My husband doesn't cook if you ask him to watch the pizza he will burn it so its just me or my son who is a great cook that's probably why I like to go out to eat.My comfort food is ICE CREAM especially chocolate marshmellow

Two of my favourite people together! Hi PJ! Thanks for having Anna with you today.

Anna, I'm so looking forward to A PERFECT TRADE. THere's so much chemistry between Tru and Jenny, it really leaps off the page. I really like the difference between what we expect from a "puck bunny" and what we get in Jenny. She can't be pigeon-holed as a bimbo. Congratulations!

Hi Anna, can't wait to read A Perfect Trade! I have no other half yet so I'm forced to make due and try not to burn down the kitchen making my own food. My comfort food is crepes with whipped cream and bananas. Yum, at least that's one thing I can do right in the kitchen lol

I had to learn to cook since everyone would starve and it has been a learning experience. My favorite comfort food is chicken soup and crusty Italian Bread. I would love to read A Perfect Trade. What a great title.

I enjoyed A PERFECT DISTRACTION. I grew up in the Northeast on the Canadian border not far from Montreal, Canada. Needless to say, hockey was a big part of the sports scene. I caught a game on TV after not watching one for several years. I'd forgotten how fast the game moves. Still fun to watch.I look forward to reading A PERFECT TRADE. Best wishes for a successful release.

Thanks for stopping by, librarypat! Thanks too for your saying you enjoyed A Perfect Distraction! Hope you enjoy A Perfect Trade. Ah yes, I can see where you got your knowledge of hockey from - Habs country! We're slowly converting the masses to hockey LOL.

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